Fitting In
by goodfairyofny
Summary: Naoki Konishi learns how to fit in with the Investigation Team, finding love along the way. A couple of months after Sunsets and Strawberries. Plenty of Kannao fluff in the background! Reviews are always welcome!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The weather was stormy again, something that had been happening too often lately for Naoki Konishi's liking. A quick check of the weather calmed him a little. It would stop raining long before midnight. This time, it was just enough to ruin a perfectly good day off from school. Just enough to put Naoki in a foul mood for the next several hours. Storms meant that none of his friends would be around. For some reason, everyone always seemed to vanish when it rained. He guessed it could have been some kind of weird coincidence, but he was in on all of the secrets now. Surely they'd have mentioned it if this was a related thing. He had an image in his head of the rest of the Investigation Team, hiding inside because they might melt in a little thunderstorm. Naoki laughed out loud when he pictured the other guys from the team cowering inside. Kanji was probably baking freaking cookies or something. As funny as the image was, cookies sounded _really_ good right now. Naoki's stomach rumbled.

He went down to the kitchen in search of something to eat. He hated how odd his home was. Naoki's family lived above the liquor store that they ran in the shopping district. The bedrooms and living room were all upstairs, but the stupid little kitchen was downstairs, attached to the store. It was pretty ridiculous dealing with random drunk people when you just wanted to go grab a snack. It sounded like his mother was helping one said drunken customer at the moment. It was only about 11 am and the moron was drunk already. What was wrong with people? Naoki slunk past the store and into the kitchen, going straight to the fridge. Yeah, there wasn't much in there. He sighed dramatically. There was never anything good to eat in this house anymore. His parents had really stopped caring about much since Sis had died. Grocery shopping was really low on their list of priorities. He wondered if life was ever going to feel normal in this house again.

Naoki decided that food was more important than the suspicion that he might melt in the rain now that he was a part of the team. He laughed again as he grabbed an umbrella and headed through the store towards the door. Couldn't even leave without walking through the smell of booze and drunks. His mom gave him a weird look as he slipped into his shoes. "I'm going to grab something to eat. Be back," he said, and slipped out the door.

It was raining a lot harder than he thought. He was glad he'd invested in a more sturdy umbrella, because this was the kind of wind that turned them inside out. Naoki ran down the street, stopping in front of Aiya, the local chinese restaurant. He shut his umbrella and stepped inside with a relieved sigh. He took a seat at the bar and ordered the rainy day beef bowl. Just then, the door dinged as someone else entered.

"Naoki! Sup!" said Kanji. "I saw you running by and figured this was where you were headed. Ok if I join you?"

"Hey! Sure!" he replied. "I figured you'd be hiding out baking cookies or something." Kanji raised an eyebrow at him.

"Why cookies?" he asked. Naoki shrugged.

"I was hungry, so they sounded good." Both boys laughed. Kanji ordered himself a beef bowl and they sat together quietly for a moment. There were only a few other customers due to the weather.

"Glad the rain isn't supposed to last," Kanji said softly. Naoki turned and looked at him.

"Yeah. I know. I haven't even… I haven't had to deal with what the rest of you have. Kind of makes me nervous."

Kanji shrugged. "If it ever happens again, we're ready for it."

"You are. But I'm not. I've never had to… go in before." It was hard talking around it, but he probably shouldn't start babbling about a world inside the TV and fighting shadows in the middle of a restaurant.

"Maybe we should take you in, do some training," Kanji thought out loud. "I'll talk to the others and we'll make a plan."

"Sounds good," Naoki said apprehensively. Kanji laughed. They finished what they could of their lunch. Those rainy day beef bowls were ridiculous. Almost no one ever finished them. They heard a rumor from the owner that their team leader, Souji Seta had been able to. But he never owned up to it when they asked him about it. Chie and Kanji had been competing to see who could get the closest for months now. As big a guy as Kanji was, Chie was winning so far. Naoki figured he'd never see the bottom of one himself.

"Looks like the rain's letting up," said Kanji. "You heading back home?"

"Yeah," Naoki answered. "Not much to do anywhere else at the moment."

"Naoto's coming by later to watch a movie. You could come hang out with us," Kanji suggested. Naoki smiled. The last place he wanted to be was on a couch with Kanji and his girlfriend for two hours. They had only started dating a couple of months ago. No way would they get through a whole movie without kissing and other yucky PDA's at this point. Not that that stuff was bad, it just was bad to be the friend that had to sit right next to it.

"Uh… no thanks. Maybe another time," he replied.

"Cool, I'll see you later, then. Gotta go bake some cookies," he laughed. Naoki rolled his eyes as they went their separate ways.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

A few hours later, the rain had stopped. Naoki was getting really bored sitting at home, but had no idea where to go, so he was still just sitting around. His phone buzzed with a text message from Kanji.

 _Sup Naoki I need a favor._

 _Hey, what is it, man?_

 _I need you to come watch a movie at my place._

Naoki sighed and rolled his eyes. Hadn't they already had this conversation?

 _I thought I already declined?_

 _Yeah, you did. But I need you. Naoto invited Yukiko and we don't want her to feel weird or anything. So come by around 7, k?_

Naoki sighed again. Kanji didn't usually take no for an answer, at least not from him. It was going to be an awkward night.

 _I'll bring the popcorn._

He arrived 15 minutes late despite the fact that he lived just a little down the street. The girls were there already, chatting in the living room when Kanji let him in. "Hey," he said. "Sorry. My mom was being weird."

"It's cool man," Kanji answered.

"Hello, Naoki-kun, I trust that you are well?" asked Naoto. Naoki had no idea why she was still always so formal with him. He guessed she was like that with most people, so he shouldn't find it so weird. But yeah, it was kinda weird.

"Naoki-kun! I haven't seen you in awhile. Are things going well for you at school? How about at the store?" Yukiko could probably hold a conversation with herself if necessary, he thought.

"It's all good, thanks Yukiko-senpai," he replied.

They decided to get settled in for the movie. Kanji brought out a plate from the kitchen to add to the popcorn Naoki had brought. He set the plate down on the coffee table and smirked at Naoki. Naoki couldn't help but laugh. "Cookies, huh? Please, tell me you wore a frilly, pink apron when you made those, it will make my year!" Kanji glared at him and sat on the couch, wrapping his arm around Naoto. Naoki sat in the chair. He wasn't getting near that couch with them on it. Yukiko evidently felt the same, because she decided to curl up on the floor by his chair. She looked up at him and smiled.

"Did you want to sit here?" he asked. "I could take the floor, I don't mind."

"Oh, no, but thank you, Naoki-kun. I'm quite comfortable here for now." She smiled sweetly again.

The movie was pretty stupid. Some action flick Kanji must have picked out. Or maybe Naoto. It was hard to tell with those two, they both had pretty odd taste in movies. When it was over, Yukiko stood up and stretched. Naoki watched her curiously. "You should have told me you were starting to ache. I would have traded with you," he commented softly. She smiled yet again. It was awfully quiet in the room considering four teenagers had just finished watching a loud movie. Naoki and Yukiko both seemed to realize it at once, and turned towards the couch. Yeah, they were kissing. Naoki walked behind the couch and kicked it. They broke apart, and Kanji glared at him.

"What the hell, man?' he said, pretending to be annoyed.

"Where's your mom?" Naoki asked. "Out of town?" Kanji nodded.

"She won't be back til tomorrow night," he answered. Naoki and Yukiko looked at each other.

"Umm, I think that I should probably be getting back to the inn now," Yukiko said. "Thank you for inviting me, I had a really nice time!" she added brightly.

"Yeah, I'm out, too," Naoki said. Naoto narrowed her eyes at them both.

"You're both acting strange," she said. "It's only 9:00." Detectives were always trying to figure you out.

"We just figured you two would like some time alone," Yukiko said, clearing her throat.

"Since you're acting like you're alone anyway," Naoki mumbled. Yukiko cleared her throat again in an attempt to keep control, but she totally lost it and broke out into a laughing fit. It was really hard not to join in, especially when Kanji's face turned a lovely shade of tomato. "Don't worry guys, we can see ourselves out," Naoki said, grabbing Yukiko's arm and making a break for the door while Kanji took a swipe at him.

Once outside, he let himself laugh with her. "This was a fun night. I like spending time with all of you," Yukiko said.

"Me too," he answered with a small smile. "Do you want me to walk with you? To the bus stop?"

"Oh, no, Naoki-kun, you live right there," she said, pointing across the street. "That would be much too far out of your way."

"I don't mind," he said. "Besides, it's like 9 on a Saturday night." He rolled his eyes and Yukiko laughed softly.

"Alright then," she said. "If you don't mind, I would like that." They started walking south, towards the bus stop. "Those two haven't been together for very long. I don't mind giving them some time to themselves. Besides, it gives you and I a chance to talk alone." She looked at him, then turned a little bit pink. "I mean," she clarified, "since we haven't talked in awhile."

Naoki smiled. He was only barely taller than her. "I understood what you meant. How have things been going at the inn?"

"Oh, good!" She exclaimed, seeming thankful for the change in subject. "My training to take over as manager is going well. School has been a little bit hard, though. My college entrance exams are coming up soon and I feel like I can't breathe sometimes with all of that studying to do."

Naoki nodded. "I guess I should feel lucky I'm still a second year," he said. She glanced at him and he flashed her a grin.

Yukiko giggled. "Yes, indeed you should!" she said. The walk was over before they knew it, and as soon as they got to the stop, the bus rolled up. Naoki was a little sad to see it end so quickly. "Goodnight, Naoki-kun! Thank you for walking with me!" Yukiko called out as she stepped onto the bus.

Naoki gave a small wave in return. He stood there until her bus drove off. What a weird day. He turned and headed back home, glaring at the Textile Shop and trying not to think about what Kanji and Naoto were up to as he headed back to the liquor store for the night.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Okay!" exclaimed Teddie. "Put on those glasses that I made you, Naoki!" The bear was ridiculously enthusiastic. Still, Naoki did what he was told. Amazing. He could see much better here with them on.

"Better?" Teddie asked.

"Yes, much. So what do we do now?" It had been months since Naoki got his persona, but they hadn't gotten much of a chance, or had much of a reason to enter the TV world. Rise had done a scan the night he had gotten it. All he knew is that his persona's name was Vasuki. He had done some research and found that he was a serpent king in Hindu mythology. Supposedly, the god Shiva wore Vasuki around his neck. Pretty interesting, but that was about all he knew about it.

"My nose isn't what it used to be, but I think I can still scan your persona well enough to analyze some of its abilities." After a moment's thought, Teddie continued. "It looks like light is Vasuki's biggest skill, and a little bit of electricity, too. Oh, and he's poisonous! I guess that makes sense for a snake."

"Hmm," Naoki hummed. He wasn't entirely sure what any of that meant. Was that good?

"Hey, that's pretty cool!" Yosuke said, answering his thoughts. "Light can be useful, though it's kind of hit or miss. Naoto has it too, you could ask her about it. And you can ask Kanji about electricity. It can be pretty awesome."

"Right!" added Teddie. "And poisoning the enemy can be really useful, too!"

"Huh. Well, that's good. I was worried he'd be lame," Naoki admitted. "When.. When can we try fighting?" He was kind of nervous about that part.

"We'll go in on Sunday, when all of us have the day off from school," said Yosuke.

"In the morning!" Teddie chimed in. "I have to work in the afternoon at Junes!"

Naoki laughed. "It sounds like a plan."

The week was dragging by. It was only Wednesday. Naoki dragged himself out of bed every morning and forced himself to go to school. He had stopped caring much about going when Saki died. It was long and tedious, everyone shot him eyes full of pity, and the teachers passed him no matter how bad his grades were. There were times when he hadn't done any of the assignments at all and still got a C. If he didn't need to give any effort there, then there wasn't much point in sitting there all day, either. But he was trying to turn some of that around. It was a different school year. He was trying to show up and put forth enough effort to be treated like the other kids, instead of like that kid whose sister died. Still, it was hard to really care much about it.

Naoki walked into his English class and took his seat behind Naoto. She turned around to greet him.

"Good morning, Naoki-kun. Did you do the reading for today?"

Naoki shrugged. "Some of it. It was pretty hard. I trust you had no problem with it?"

She showed just a hint of a smile. "I could help you, you know. We've formed a sort of study group. Most days it's just Kanji and myself, but once or twice a week some of the others from class join us. Rise-san always does when she's in town. Occasionally some of our senpai join us for English as well. It's a tough subject."

"Really? Which senpai? Like the team?" He found it baffling that upperclassmen would be asking Naoto for extra lessons. But it did kind of figure. She was probably smarter than all of them.

"Oh, sometimes Yosuke-senpai and Chie-senpai, and once in awhile Yukiko-senpai joins us. All of them struggle with the subject once in awhile," she answered.

"I guess I could try it. What days do you guys work on English?" he asked.

"Tomorrow," she said. "And usually Saturday as well, but it depends on what everyone has planned for the weekend." The bell rang and the teacher walked in. He nodded in reply. She gave a slight nod back and turned her attention to the front of the room.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Thursday after school, Naoki headed to Junes for a group study session. Naoto had told him in class that some of the third years might come. Rise was still out of town, and all of their other classmates had declined. It would just be Kanji, Naoto, and their senpai. And Naoki. He wasn't really looking forward to it. He was curious to see if any of the older kids would really show up, though.

He left school a few minutes behind Naoto and Kanji. He must have taken longer than he thought, because he was the last to arrive. All of the senpai had shown up. Chie, Yosuke and Yukiko.

"Oh, Naoki-kun!" Yukiko said brightly. "There's an empty seat over here beside me."

"Oh.. alright," he answered, taking the seat. It still surprised him when people genuinely wanted his company, and didn't just offer out of pity.

They were doing a poetry unit at school, so Naoto pulled out a love poem they would be working on in class tomorrow. It should be review for the third years, but Chie and Yosuke looked like they had never seen it before in their lives. Yukiko seemed familiar with it, so it was a review for her. Naoki was pretty sure that as badly as Kanji needed the help, he mostly came to hear his girlfriend recite love poems, but whatever. Naoto recited it flawlessly once, then had each of them attempt to say a stanza at a time. Chie sounded like she was reciting from a vacuum cleaner manual. Yosuke did nothing but stutter. He barely got a word out. "It's not fair!" he whined. "I hate this stuff!" Chie elbowed him. Kanji actually did pretty well. It was clear they had been practicing pretty regularly. He took it really slow and made only a few mistakes. Yukiko was nearly flawless as well. She definitely had read the poem before. Naoki's performance fell somewhere right in the middle. He wasn't a train wreck like Yosuke, but he wasn't even as good as Kanji. He just simply hadn't cared about anything school related enough to have practiced much English on his own time.

"Crap," he muttered softly after he had finished. Yukiko met his eyes. No one else seemed to have heard him.

"Great job everyone!" Naoto encouraged. "Keep practicing at home and we'll go over it again the next time we meet."

"Oh man," Yosuke complained. "I don't ever want to do that again."

"That's because you completely sucked at it!" Chie said, laughing. "If you actually practice you'll get better."

"Oh yeah? You sounded like a mail order catalog. Or.. or a robot _reading_ a mail order catalog!" Yosuke laughed in return.

"Hey!" she said, getting up and chasing him to the other end of the food court when he ran out of the reach of her raised fists. Naoki shook his head at them. They were ridiculous.

"I think you did very well," Yukiko said to him softly.

"What? Oh, not really… but thanks," he replied.

"No, I mean it," she said. "It takes a long time to master a language like this. You just haven't had enough time to practice yet."

"Yeah… I guess that's true," he said.

The study group broke up when everyone started heading off to get snacks, and then Teddie came over on his break to visit. "I wanted to join in the fun! You all looked like you were having a _beary_ nice time over here!" It was starting to feel like one of their uneventful team meetings. Naoki sighed in relief. Studying with his friends wasn't too awful if they were going to be this casual and relaxed about it. He glanced at Yukiko and she smiled. Maybe he could deal with coming to these study sessions more often.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Cream puffs. Naoki loved them. He used to go to a nearby bakery to buy them, and they were so good. So much better than the ones at Junes. Theirs were awful. If he put them in the fridge, Sis would eat them and claim she was preventing them from spoiling. He hadn't been able to bear buying them, even though they were his absolute favorite. And here Yukiko was, outside his door, with a box of cream puffs.

"I remembered how much you like them," she said with a small smile.

"Thanks," he said, smiling back. "Umm… let's go sit at the Samegawa. It's pretty weird in my house right now."

"Alright," she answered. "That sounds lovely." They walked to the river and claimed the picnic table, sharing the cream puffs. He had never really done this before. Any of it. Sharing a dessert with a girl, having a girl bring him something, walking by the river with one. He was out of his element but it felt really nice.

It's such a beautiful day," Yukiko said. "I'm glad I came to see you, it would have been a shame if you'd stayed inside and missed it." Naoki raised an eyebrow at her, but didn't know quite what to say. Why would she be worried about him? He was in a better place than last year. And he didn't want to be a bother to anyone. Still, he was enjoying her company.

"I'm glad you came by, too," he finally said, quietly, looking down. "But, well… why did you?" He wasn't going to ask. Really. It just slipped out.

"Well, I, I've been thinking lately, about how much I enjoy being around you. And I figured that you probably were sitting at home not doing anything, just like I was. I wasn't sure what to do about it, so I took a walk. And I was passing by the bakery, and saw the cream puffs… and they made me think of you, so I decided to come and see you." She let out a breath. It was quite a monologue for Yukiko. She usually kept things short and simple, and let others fill in the gaps around her. _She's really brave,_ Naoki thought. _Much more brave than I am._

"I like spending time with you, too," he said. They both smiled. "Kinda funny, huh? We used to play together when we were little. You, me and Kanji. And then none of us talked for years."

"I know," she said. "I think it's pretty great that we all found each other again. I'm.. sorry that it took so long."

Naoki shrugged. "Doesn't really matter. I mean, we're here now, right? So it's fine." Yukiko smiled again and took his hand. They spent a long time together walking by the river, talking about everything they had missed in the years they hadn't talked. When evening fell, he walked her to the bus stop. She hugged him when her bus pulled up.

"I'll see you at school tomorrow!" she said brightly. He nodded and watched as the bus pulled away again. It was a really great day, and Naoki had no idea what any of it meant. He walked home with a smile on his face.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

On Saturday, Naoki expected them to do the study group again, but it turned out everyone wanted to do other things. Yosuke and Chie were both mysteriously busy. Teddie had to work. And Kanji texted him during English with a plot of his own.

 _Sup, man. Let's go to the movies tonight. There's this horror flick playing in Okina. You, me, Naoto and Yukiko. Sound good?_

 _Doesn't Naoto hate scary movies?_

 _Totally! She's so cute when she watches one! And, you know, snuggly! You in?_

 _Yeah, ok. I'm in._

Naoki wondered if Yukiko was into scary movies or not. If not, he couldn't figure out why she said yes to this. He wasn't sure why _he_ did, either. Would she also be "cute" and "snuggly"? It was an interesting thought to say the least.

At six that evening they all met up at the train station so they could ride to Okina together. The girls were sitting by the window chatting. From what they were saying, he gathered that Rise would be coming home soon. It sounded like they were planning a big get together or something. Kanji was restless, choosing to stand because he couldn't seem to sit still for some reason. The guy just got really nervous about stuff sometimes. He seemed a lot better since he had started dating Naoto, but he clearly had some insane anxiety going on at the moment. Naoto kept glancing at him, then returning to her conversation with Yukiko. She didn't seem too concerned about it, but she definitely noticed. After a while, Naoki couldn't take it anymore.

"Kanji. What on earth is wrong with you?" he asked.

"Huh? N-Nothing. Why?"

"You haven't stopped moving since we got on the train. Are you expecting ninjas to jump out and attack us or something?"

Kanji just blinked, like he hadn't even heard the question. "What?"

Naoki laughed. "Nothing, man." Naoto was paying closer attention to them now. The train came to a stop, and they got off, stopping at a nearby bench.

"Will you two excuse us for a moment?" Naoto asked. She dragged Kanji about six feet away, Naoki guessed to ask him why he was acting so weird. They were still close enough to hear. "What is it you aren't telling me?" she asked Kanji.

"U-Uh, don't be mad, ok? But we all - me and Naoki and Yukiko - decided to see umm… a scary movie tonight. And I-I already got the tickets so we can't not go see it." Naoki couldn't help it, he started cracking up.

"N-No!" Naoto squeaked. "W-Why would you do that?" Kanji gave an embarrassed smile.

"Because it's the only way you'd go?" She smacked him on the arm.

"You're going to pay for this, Tatsumi," she said with a pout. He looked down at her with a huge smile. She tried to ignore him. They walked back over to the bench. "Shall we go then?" she asked, trying to sound like none of that had happened.

"Yes," said Yukiko. "We'll get better seats if we hurry!"

Naoto gave her a serious look. "I'm not sure I want better seats, Yukiko-senpai." Yukiko smiled and put her arm around Naoto.

"Come on, it won't be so bad! If we hurry we can get some popcorn on the way in." She led a sniffly Naoto towards the theater. Naoki and Kanji followed behind them.

"Man. You're in for it later."

"Yeah. Yeah, I am." Kanji couldn't stop grinning. Apparently he thought it was worth it.

They got some popcorn and headed in to find four seats together. The girls sat together in the middle, Kanji on Naoto's other side, and Naoki on Yukiko's. The movie was actually pretty scary. Naoto spent most of it hiding her face in Kanji's arm, which Naoki was pretty sure was why Kanji planned this outing to begin with. He spent most of the time comforting her instead of watching. Yukiko didn't seem to be scared at all. In fact, she was really into it. At one point, Naoki was taken by surprise enough to jump. Yukiko looked at him and smiled. She held out her hand and raised an eyebrow. He raised one back at her and took it. They held hands for the rest of the movie. Kanji was too busy doting on Naoto to notice, and Naoto wasn't going to notice a thing with her face buried in Kanji's shirt.

After the movie, they rode the train back and stopped at Aiya for some food.

"The movie was great!" exclaimed Yukiko.

"The movie was terrifying," Naoto disagreed. Kanji just kept smiling at her.

"You shouldn't feel bad, Naoto-kun. Naoki-kun was a bit scared as well." Yukiko gave him a sly look. Kanji cracked up.

Naoki shrugged. "Little bit. It was fun."

They finished their meal and decided to part ways. Naoto was going to Kanji's for a while. Naoki walked Yukiko to the bus stop for the third time in about a week.

"I'm glad I came tonight, this was really fun," she said, as they arrived at the bus stop.

"Yeah. Hey - " Naoki got nervous and stopped his words before it was too late.

"What is it, Naoki-kun?" Yukiko asked. He really should just keep his mouth shut. But he didn't want to.

"Well, I mean. Do you want to do this again sometime soon? Like, just you and me?" He felt like an idiot.

Yukiko smiled brightly. "I'd like that," she answered. The bus pulled up. The other people waiting got on. Yukiko hesitated. Then she moved closer and kissed Naoki right on the lips. "Good night!" she said, and quickly got on the bus. He stood there stunned for a while after it pulled away. Then he walked home slowly, with a huge smile on his face and his hand over his lips.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The next morning, Naoki was really nervous. Today was Sunday. They were going to go train in the TV world. He was also likely to see Yukiko. He was sort of freaking out about all of it. He decided to send Kanji a text.

 _Hey, are you busy? I could use some advice._

 _What's up? Nervous about today? You shouldn't be. Everything will be fine. Not like you'll be alone in there or anything._

 _Thanks. Yes, nervous. About that and something else._

 _What's the other thing?_

 _What does it mean if a girl says she'll go out with you sometime and then kisses you?_

 _Kisses you? Like on the cheek?_

 _On the mouth._

 _Well she probably.. Wait, Yukiko? She kissed you?_

 _Yes… What do you think that means?_

 _It probably means she likes you, dumbass._

 _Right. I mean, that's what I was thinking, but…_

 _But what? You need to stop thinking no one's on your side._

He didn't reply again. That was absolutely part of the problem. He didn't think anyone was on his side. He thought people hung out with him because they felt sorry for him. It was almost time to meet up. He got his things together and walked to Junes, finding the others already waiting at the food court. Kanji nodded when he saw him, so Naoki went to join him and Naoto. They were sitting on one of the tables talking in low voices to each other.

"Sup," Kanji said, looking up at him.

"Hey," Naoki replied.

"Are you nervous?" asked Naoto quietly.

"Yes," he murmured back.

"I was, too, the first time I fought. It will be alright," she reassured him. He nodded.

Yosuke had brought a handful of different kinds of weapons for Naoki to choose from. That was weird, how was he supposed to know what would be right? He picked up a dagger. It would be easy to carry in without it being seen. When everyone was ready, they moved quietly to the electronics department in two smaller groups, entering the TV as inconspicuously as possible. The fall in made him feel pretty sick. It took a moment to stop spinning. Kanji slapped him on the back, but said nothing.

They trained for a couple of hours. The first hour was harder, not just because he was weaker at first, but also because Teddie was trying to fight, heal and provide battle support all at the same time. Admittedly though, Naoki was the only one who needed healing, and Yosuke and Chie were plenty strong enough to keep Ted from having to fight much. The second hour, the others switched out. Kanji and Naoto helped with the fighting while Yukiko mostly took care of healing. This allowed Teddie to wait at the entrance and just do support. Naoki felt stronger and a little more confident by the time they were done for the day. The team celebrated his success at the food court with snacks after they called it quits. Naoki found it hard to believe that they would really celebrate something like him not getting his ass beat by shadows the first time he fought, but that's exactly what happened. What a strange bunch they were.

When everyone split up for the evening, Yukiko went off with Chie, so Naoki never got a chance to talk to her. It felt kind of funny. Like maybe she was embarrassed about it and left so she wouldn't have to talk about it. They were supposed to talk about it, right? I mean, she kissed him. You couldn't just ignore something like that and move on with your life. Or did she wish it had never happened? He didn't know what to think, or whether or not to be upset about it.

"We're gonna grab some food on the way home," Kanji said, interrupting his fatalistic thoughts. "You want to come with?"

"Sure," he nodded, and began walking back to the shopping district with Kanji and Naoto. They stopped at Souzai Daigaku for some steak skewers on the way, spending some time talking and laughing at the picnic tables together. Naoki decided that getting a girl's opinion was probably a good idea, and he trusted Naoto to not make fun of him.

"Umm, Naoto? What does it mean when a girl just suddenly kisses you?"

"Did you mean you, or are you calling my boyfriend a girl?" she asked with a sly smile.

"Hey!" Kanji protested, punching her on the arm lightly.

Naoki laughed softly. "I meant me."

"I would say that she probably likes you very much. Though I'm not exactly the expert on feminine behavior," she added thoughtfully.

Naoki nodded. He let the conversation slip back to other topics for a bit before saying goodbye and heading home. When he was out of earshot, Naoto whispered to Kanji. "Who? Yukiko-senpai?"

"Yeah," he answered.

Naoto nodded. "That's good. I'm sorry that I called you a girl earlier," she added with a coy smile.

He shrugged. "l'll be anything you want me to be, Naoto." She giggled and crushed her lips to his.

"I suppose we have to go home now," she said with a sigh. "Unless you want to come home with me?" Kanji nodded enthusiastically. "Really?" she said with a frown that almost looked more like a smile. "What will your mother think?"

He stood up, reached out for her hand and smiled back at her. "I'll worry about that tomorrow. Come on, let's go home."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Most of the next week was uneventful. School dragged on each day, and Naoki attended some of Naoto's after school lessons. It was usually just the second years. Yukiko came by on Thursday for the English lesson again. The other third years made excuses to avoid it. After they finished the lesson, the others started discussing Rise's homecoming on Saturday. The team was organizing a welcome home celebration for Saturday night. She left and came back so frequently that the welcome home parties seemed a bit ridiculous at this point. But she had been away for awhile this time, so Naoki supposed it was less obnoxious than usual. They had decided to have the party at the Amagi Inn, because they wanted to have lots of space but also to serve their own food. They would have access to the hot springs and stay at the inn for the night. Naoki had heard horror stories from the last time the rest of the group stayed there, and even scarier stories about the girls' cooking. It was sure to be an interesting evening to say the least. On Saturday, when Naoki walked out of school with Kanji and Naoto, Rise was waiting at the gates.

"Heeeeyyyy guys! I just got in! Oh my gosh, I missed you all so muuuuch!" she squealed, throwing herself at the rest of them. She'd have fallen on her face from the impact if Kanji hadn't thrown an arm out, blocking her from knocking Naoto to the ground with her enthusiasm.

"Rise-san, I don't understand why you can't greet us normally. Someone always gets hurt when you arrive at home," Naoto said, sounding a little annoyed. Rise hugged her more gently. Then she threw herself more forcefully at Kanji. At least she was too small to knock him over. He removed her, and she clung to his arm tightly, on the opposite side from where Naoto had his other hand. Naoki rolled his eyes. Rise was such a flirt. With everyone. She turned his way and batted her eyelashes.

"Hey, Naoki! Are you feeling left out? I have a hug for you, too!"

Naoki stepped to the side a bit, getting out of her reach. "I'm good, thanks." Kanji looked at him and cracked up.

The four of them headed off to the shopping district. Rise barely took a breath, chattering incessantly the entire time. Naoki sighed. He missed the comfortable silence that usually came of a walk home with Naoto and Kanji. The three of them were perfectly ok with gaps in the conversation. Rise felt the need to fill every single one of them. By the time they got there, Naoki had a headache brewing. They split up in front of Aiya, because it was between all of their homes, except for Naoto's. She lived pretty far from the shopping district, but was going home with Kanji. Naoki hoped tonight wasn't going to be as annoying and loud as the walk home had been. He hurried up to his room to have a little quiet time and pack before heading to the inn.

He was the last to arrive at the party. This was getting to be a thing for Naoki. Always the last to show up. This time he was running late because he was picking up some pastries (cream puffs included), just in case the girls made inedible food again. He had yet to be forced to try anything they had made. The thought of it turned his stomach. Thankfully, Kanji did a lot of the cooking, and Naoto had picked up some sushi on the way. Teddie had brought a watermelon that he claimed came from Junes, but it was the totally wrong season for it, so who knows where it came from. Yukiko and Chie had spent the afternoon making curry. When they brought it out, Yosuke gulped.

"I-I can't believe you would do this again. Don't you two remember the cursed camping trip?! The first act of Mystery Food X?"

"Hey!" Chie yelled. "We've been practicing! A-And Naoto got us a recipe…"

Kanji turned towards Naoto. "Thank you," he told her. He had been clutching his stomach in anticipation.

"Come on, guys, try some!" Yukiko said with a big smile. "It's much better, I promise!"

"This bear is up to the challenge!" exclaimed Teddie. He swallowed a spoonful of the curry. "Wow, Yuki-chan, this is pretty good!" Yukiko and Chie beamed at him.

"Thank you, Teddie!" said Yukiko. Then she looked at Naoki. "You're next," she said seriously.

He gulped. "A-Alright." He took a bite. It was definitely not the best curry he'd ever had, but it wasn't bad, either. "It's ok, guys. They did a good job. Probably won't kill you." He winked at Yukiko and she laughed.

Everyone started eating happily. Naoto turned to Rise and smiled. "Welcome home, Rise-san."

"YAY! Thanks for this guys, I'm so happy to be home for awhile! I missed you all so much!" she said.

After they ate, they split off to get ready for the hot springs. The guys hung out in their room while it was the girls' turn. Yosuke and Teddie had been hoping for a revival of their plan to peek at the girls, but Kanji thankfully shot them down. "Cut it out, senpai! You remember how long they were mad for."

"You just don't care because you have a girlfriend now," Yosuke whined. Naoki rolled his eyes. Thankfully they were able to keep Teddie and Yosuke in check. They spent some time in the baths when it was their turn. Then they got ready for bed. Naoki was about to turn the lights out when Yosuke asked, "Wait, where's Kanji?"

"Where do you think Kanji is," Naoki mumbled.

"I saw him in the hallway sucking face with Nao-chan!" announced Teddie. The bear always sounded full of joy, no matter what kind of weird thing he was saying.

"Figures," muttered Yosuke. Naoki shut the lights off. About an hour later, Kanji loudly "snuck in". Naoki wondered if Kanji could hear him rolling his eyes at him.

Naoki had a hard time falling back to sleep. After a few hours of laying there staring at the ceiling, he decided to quietly slip out of the room for some air. He walked down to the lobby, finding Yukiko sitting by herself.

"H-Hey," he said. She looked up at him curiously.

"Naoki-kun, what are you doing up at this hour?"

He shrugged. "Couldn't sleep. Thought I'd get some air."

"Oh," she answered. "Would you like some company? We could go for a walk."

"Sure," he replied.

They walked together on the grounds, trying to stay pretty quiet so they wouldn't wake the entire inn. They mostly walked in silence, but it was comfortable. You would think it wouldn't be, since they really hadn't talked since the kiss. That was the thing about Yukiko. Even awkward silences were comfortable silences. Finally, she broke it, bringing up the subject they were undoubtedly both thinking about. "Listen, Naoki-kun, a-about the other night…" she began. Naoki stopped walking. He turned to face her. Then he decided to take a chance. He cut her off before she could continue.

"Yukiko," he began. "Would you like to go out with me tomorrow? Like, on a date."

She smiled softly. "Yes, yes, I would like that."

"Ok, good," he said. They started walking again. This time he took her hand, before she had to offer it.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

In the morning, most of the team woke up pretty grumpy. Naoki hadn't seen some of them this cranky before. Even the idol full of sunshine was crabby after a slumber party. Naoki felt pretty good, though, despite having spent much of the night awake, and some of it outside, walking and talking softly with Yukiko. They all had breakfast together at the inn, most of them scowling at each other, before parting ways.

Naoki went home to get ready for his date with Yukiko. They had decided to keep it simple. A movie in Okina, but by themselves this time, and nothing scary. And they would maybe grab some food after. Still, he was a little bit nervous, even if they had pretty much had this date already. Just not alone. And not since the kiss.

In the afternoon, he ran down to the bus stop to wait for Yukiko. He was running a little bit late (as always lately), but managed to get there just before her bus pulled up. "Hello, Naoki-kun!" she called out cheerfully. "You look like you're out of breath."

"Had… to run…" he said, gasping for air. He took a moment to catch his breath, then said, "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes," she said with a smile. They walked to the train station. It was hard for Naoki to think of things to talk about, but thankfully Yukiko was good at bringing about conversation. They talked some about the party, and how cranky all of their friends had been in the morning. "It seems that the girls decided to stay up all night," Yukiko told him. "Well, Chie and Rise-san decided, and they kept Naoto-kun up all night." Naoki laughed. So that had been why Naoto looked so put out in the morning.

"Guys are lame," he said. "They actually went to sleep. No idea why they were all in bad moods after that many hours of rest." They tried to think of silly reasons why all of their friends were so cranky in the morning, giggling over the ridiculous things they came up with. It made the train ride to Okina pass quickly.

They saw a much tamer movie this time. Naoki wasn't quite sure what most of the plot was. He was preoccupied by Yukiko's hand in his. Every so often she looked at him and smiled. She smelled really nice, too. When the movie was over, they headed to a nearby cafe for a late dinner before catching the train back to Inaba. Before Naoki knew it, they were back at the bus stop. He was glad the bus wouldn't be there for awhile. It had been a really nice night, and he hated to see it end already.

They were sitting on a bench together waiting. No one else was around. Naoki felt his heart start to pound as he thought about what needed to come next. Should he say something first? Or should he just go for it?

"Yukiko…" he said softly. She turned towards him. He decided he didn't want to say anything after all. He would just show her. He put his hand on the side of her face, and slowly began to kiss her. After a few moments, she wrapped her arms around his neck, returning his kiss much harder. When they broke apart, he closed his eyes. _Thank you,_ he thought. _I needed this…_

When he opened his eyes, she was looking at him curiously.

"I haven't felt like anything in my life has been real at all since Saki died," he confessed. "It feels like I'm walking through a dream most of the time. That's why I have a hard time caring about school, and why it's hard for me to fit in with everyone on the team. I keep expecting none of it to be real. That I'll wake up, and none of them will really like me or want me around." He took a slow, deep breath, turning to face her. "But you, you feel real. When I'm with you, I feel like I finally belong."

She smiled at him softly. 'I'm glad," she said.

"Yukiko?" he asked. "Will you be my girlfriend?"

"Yes," she answered. "I would very much like to be your girlfriend, Naoki." He smiled back at her, taking her in his arms, and kissing her until the bus finally showed up. Today, Naoki Konishi finally felt happiness again, after a long year of longing for nothing else.


End file.
